


never too late

by unholyconfessions (orphan_account)



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Hallucinations, M/M, Pre-Slash, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-12
Updated: 2013-12-12
Packaged: 2018-01-04 10:51:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1080142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/unholyconfessions
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the night, Tommy comes back to visit him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	never too late

**Author's Note:**

> So, I just finished watching 2x09 and that was a total feel-fest. I almost screamed when Tommy showed up. 
> 
> This is just a little something that came to mind because this is my OTP and I do what I want. Kidding, kidding, but I saw this as a way to make Tommy/Oliver happen again without it being an AU. Yay!
> 
> Not beta read, so excuse any mistakes. Feedback is always appreciated.
> 
> Enjoy! :-)

Oliver takes a breath and holds it, letting his fingers curl into fists as a ghostly presence makes itself known behind him. He doesn’t dare look over his shoulder. Not yet.

“You made it,” Tommy’s voice resonates in the room, a soft whisper to Oliver’s back. “You saved Roy.”

Staring up at the starless sky, Oliver nods, says, “I did.”

There’s a chuckle, a featherlike sound that Oliver’s only ever heard from Tommy and Tommy alone, before all there is left is Oliver’s own breathing. That—the fact that he _is_ , indeed, the only person breathing in that room—is both fascinating and terrifying. Tommy feels real, almost palpable; Oliver can smell his cologne, can feel the bore of his eyes on his shoulders as if he were there, standing in Oliver’s room in the middle of the night. 

Alive.

“I knew you would.”

Oliver smiles at the fondness in Tommy’s voice, pauses just before turning around to face him. He didn’t think they would end up this close, too close, but there he is—in Tommy’s personal space, breathing in the air that would be the same as Tommy’s if this weren’t a hallucination. He curses himself, taking a step back to put some distance between them, and waits for his hands to stop shaking.

“I did it for you,” is what he eventually says, mustering up the courage to let his eyes meet Tommy’s lifeless ones. “I did it because you were there. Roy could’ve died if it weren’t for you, Tommy. I could’ve died.” 

Tommy smiles, the way he used to, and Oliver can pinpoint the precise moment the knot in his throat comes undone. 

“You saved me,” Oliver says, “and I couldn’t save you.”

The smile doesn’t budge, not one bit, and Tommy takes a step forward, invading Oliver’s personal space again. “You weren’t supposed to.”

Oliver has the sudden itch to reach out, to drag his fingers through Tommy skin and see if there’s still heat there, but he can’t move. He can’t bear the thought that his hand might go right through Tommy’s body, or that Tommy’s image might dissipate as soon as Oliver tries to touch.

“I was too late, Tommy. I was too late to save you.”

Tommy is the one that reaches out, eventually, and his fingers are warm as they wrap around Oliver’s wrist. There’s a small moment in which his thumb skims up inside the sleeve of Oliver’s shirt, caressing, that Oliver is afraid it might burn through his skin. 

He closes his eyes, letting his forehead fall against Tommy’s, and then the heat is gone.


End file.
